War of Belgian Aggression against Honduras

War of Belgian Aggression against Honduras was an invasion of Honduras by the Kingdom of Belgium in 1878–79, largely at the insistence of King Leopold II of Belgium.

Background
As early as the reign of Leopold I of Belgium, however, there already existed documents indicating that Honduras was regarded by the Belgian government as one of the sites of potential colonization. The kingdom was already in the process of colonizing the Congo by then, but that was a private venture by King Leopold II. His lobbying resulted in the government deciding to go along with the plan to invade Honduras as well. At the time, the republic had recently gained independence form the United States of Central America and was in a period of transition, and the Belgian General Staff decided to take advantage of the situation.

Land battles
Belgium declared war in October 1878, deploying General Maximilien de Quarre's Fourth Army, which was landed by the Belgian Navy in the La Ceiba province. His 12,000 troops occupied the territory and awaited for the arrival of additional force to press further inland. The First Army, under General Olivier de Beaufort, arrived in early 1879 and the two forces occupied most of the coastal regions. By the summer of that year, the pressed on to the capital, having secured the areas along the coast. There, the combined Belgian forces defeated some 21,000 Honduran troops, mostly armed nationalists who had previously fought in the revolution against the United States of Central America. The poorly-armed and inexperienced Honduran forces proved to be no match against the professional Belgian Army. They were routed and sent fleeing into the mountainous San Pedro Sula province.

Naval actions
As the new state had only a small fleet, the paltry Honduran navy mostly remained in port. However, the only naval engagement between the Hondurans and Admiral Feullien Desmanet de Biesme's Transport Flotilla came in late 1878 when he was making a return trip to pick up the First Army and deliver it to Honduras from Belgium. A small frigate, Comyagua, attempted to intercept the six steam transports, only to be destroyed in battle without any Belgian losses. After that the Transport Flotilla dropped off the 12,000 additional men of Beaufort's First Army and then docked in nearby Martinique, a French possession, for repairs (France, an ally of Belgium, supported them in the conflict by granting military access).